DBHIG] THE ASSINTBOIN 569 



At this stage of the game the excitement is very great, the spec- 

 tators crowd around and intense fierceness prevails, few words arc 

 exchanged, and no remarks made by those looking on. If the loser 

 be completely ruined and a desperate man, it is more than likely he 

 will by quarrel endeavor to repossess himself of some of his prop- 

 erty, but they are generally well matched in this respect, though 

 bloody struggles are often the consequence. We have known Indians 

 to lose everything — horses, dogs, cooking utensils, lodge, wife, even 

 to his wearing apparel, and be obliged to beg an old skin from some 

 one to cover himself, and seek a shelter in the lodge of one of his 

 relations. It is, however, considered a mark of manliness to suffer 

 no disconr)o>ure to be £>erceptible on account of the loss, but in most 

 cases we imagine this is a restraint forced upon the loser by the 

 character of his adversary. 



Suicide is never committed on these occasions. His vengeance 

 seeks some other outlet, in war expeditions, or some way to acquire 

 property that he may again play and retrieve his losses. There are 

 some who invariably lose and are poor all their lives. A man may 

 with honor stop playing with the loss of his gun ; he has also a second 

 oj^portunity to retire on losing his horse, and when this is so under- 

 stood at the commencement they do, but when a regular set-to takes 

 place between two soldiers, it generally ends as above described. 



Ordinary gambling for small articles, such as beads, vermilion, 

 rings, knives, arrows, kettles, etc., is carried on by playing the game 

 of hand, which consists in shuffling a pebble from one hand to the 

 other and guessing in which hand the pebble lies. They all sit in 

 a ring on the ground, each with whatever stake they choose to put 

 up before them. Both men and women join in the game and a song 

 is kept up all the time by the whole with motions of the hands of 

 him who holds the pebble. After singing about five minutes a guess 

 is made by one of the parties as to which hand the pebble is in, and 

 both hands are opened. If the guess has been correct, the one holding 

 the pebble is obliged to pay all the rest an equivalent to the stake 

 before them; but if the hand not containing the pebble be picked 

 upon, all the ring forfeit their stakes to him. Either one man can 

 thus play against the whole or he has it in his power to pass the 

 pebble to the next, he betting like the others. 



This is a very common game, and a great deal of property by it 

 daily changes hands, though seldom such large articles as guns, 

 horses, or women. 



The usual game which women play alone, that is, without the men, 

 is called chvm -/.cm-dee', and is performed with four sticks marked on 

 one side and blank on the other, as described in Plate 73. The 

 women all sit in a circle around the edge of some skin spread 



88253°— 30 37 



